Status
Available
Call number
Call number
Fic Kip
Local notes
Fic Kip
Collections
Series
Genres
Publication
cbj (2005)
Description
Classic Literature. Juvenile Fiction. Short Stories. HTML: The Jungle Book from 1894 is a collection of Rudyard Kipling's stories that give moral lessons through the personification of animals. The most famous of the stories are the three detailing the adventures of Mowgli, the abandoned "man cub" who is raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. Also well-known is the tale of a heroic mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the story of a young elephant handler in Toomai of the Elephants. Due to its moral flavor, The Jungle Book was used by the junior section of the Scouting movement, the Cub Scouts..
Awards
Children's Favorites Awards (Selection — 1992-1994)
Language
Original language
German
Original publication date
1894
1934 (Nederlandse vertaling)
Physical description
8.03 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member keylawk
Kipling was born in India, was removed to England when ten, to return for work as an adult for 6 years. The Jungle stories are here compiled from magazine articles written while the author was living in Vermont (!).
Also contains Baloo's Maxims [46], Mowgli's Song [131], other song-verses [e.g.
Speaking of cubs, there is Mowgli, the feral child, raised by wolves. Other much-loved stories include the heroic mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the elephant-handler, Toomai.
Bracketed by the jungle stories is a tale out of the Bering Sea: Kotick, a fur seal, searches for a home for his kind where they will not be persecuted by humans. Since Kipling was a great admirer of Theodor Herzl who sought self-determination for the Jewish people, it is difficult not to view this otherwise out-of-place message as a metaphor in support of a fellow journalist and friend. Ironically, three decades later, a social irritant in Germany usurped a reverse of Kipling's symbol, the Swastica, as an insignia for a political party devoted to persecution.
Also contains Baloo's Maxims [46], Mowgli's Song [131], other song-verses [e.g.
Show More
42, 89, 300], and the law of the Jungle, interspersed, which lays down rules for the safety of all, as taught to all cubs, by Baloo the sleepy brown bear. Speaking of cubs, there is Mowgli, the feral child, raised by wolves. Other much-loved stories include the heroic mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the elephant-handler, Toomai.
Bracketed by the jungle stories is a tale out of the Bering Sea: Kotick, a fur seal, searches for a home for his kind where they will not be persecuted by humans. Since Kipling was a great admirer of Theodor Herzl who sought self-determination for the Jewish people, it is difficult not to view this otherwise out-of-place message as a metaphor in support of a fellow journalist and friend. Ironically, three decades later, a social irritant in Germany usurped a reverse of Kipling's symbol, the Swastica, as an insignia for a political party devoted to persecution.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ScribbleKey
I loved the parts with Mowgli, but the other stories completely lost my interest, so I didn't read them. They could be good. Maybe great. I will never know.
LibraryThing member zaareth
The Mowgli stories are excellent - the rest, less so. Even Riki Tiki Tavi, it turns out, isn't so great. Too bad - I remember a great animated version of it that I watched as a kid.
The imperialism is present, though not generally so obtrusive as might be expected (the final story an exception,
The imperialism is present, though not generally so obtrusive as might be expected (the final story an exception,
Show More
obviously). Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
This classic story of a boy raised by a pack of wolves has lost none of its power over the years, but the Disney movie certainly doesn't do it justice. Mowgli's journey to manhood is so much more complicated than that depiction shows. He learns the jungle law from the vivid characters Baloo the
Show More
bear and the panther Bagheera and he must fight the tiger Shere Khan, but the true story lies in his life as a misfit. Though he's raised in the jungle, most animals never accept him. Then when he returns to the human village he finds the same is true there. He has no real home and the pain of that breaks his heart. Show Less
LibraryThing member cshupp
I have to say I like the movie better, but I think that's because of the music! It was an interesting story. Kipling either has an amazing imagination or he actually spent time in the jungle. Maybe it's both.
LibraryThing member k-su
This is a story about a man who was brought up by wolves. The boy's name is Mougl.
This is a famous story.So,It is easy for me to read this book, because Ihave been known this story.
This is fiction,but there is a story that a boy was brought by wolves.
I hope that peopl and animal can become friends
In fact, man hurt a lot of animals. It is sad fact.
This is a famous story.So,It is easy for me to read this book, because Ihave been known this story.
This is fiction,but there is a story that a boy was brought by wolves.
I hope that peopl and animal can become friends
Show More
like Mougli.In fact, man hurt a lot of animals. It is sad fact.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mlwgiggles
Classic tale of an Indian boy raised in the Jungle that openes up a new world of imagination for young readers.
LibraryThing member isabelx
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi has always been my favourite story in this book.
LibraryThing member EllieGiles
Kipling's famous story about a boy who is left to live in the jungle. A charming and timeless tale.
LibraryThing member tatertot84
The Jungle Book is a very old but facinating book. Deep in the jungle of India, a baby stumbled apoun a wolf pack while being hunted by the tiger Shercawn. When he is put on trail by the wolves he is safed by a bear named Balo and a panther named Bageera and is accepted by the wolves. During his
This book is very thrilling. Its amazing how the characters act as almost human and have their own laws as well. Im very glad that with their humility and good nature the jungle animals accepted Mogli other wise he would have been killed by Shercawn and probebly the wolf pack. Bageera is a very kind panther and is willing to risk life and limb for his friend. Balo is a strick but loving old bear that toters all the wolf cubs to learn the laws of the jungle. Mogli is an expert to living life in the jungle and is pretty much the leader of all the animals because he has gain all their trust. I really enjoyed this book and just to tell you, I read it three times :).
Show More
years of child hood, Mogli learns the laws of the jungle by his toter Balo and learns to respect all living things. After escaping the law less monkeys called the Banderlog and almost killed by the wolf pack when Shercanw tries to convince the wolves he is a threat, Mongli enjoys his humble life. When he is encuraged by Bageera and the wolves to live life with man, Mogli tries to lead this confuising life with his own kind. Now living with his long lost mother, Mogli speds his days tending the cattle and listing to untrue stories about the jungle the hunter of the village describes. Out raged by his story of Shercawn, Mogli tries to prove him wrong by using his wolf brothers and the cattle to trample the murderous tiger. When the hunter convinces the villagers that Mogli is a demon when he used the wolves to defend him form the angerd hunter, they banish Mogli into his jungle home once again. After a few years Mogli learns that his parents are being burned for they are the parents of a demon. Desprite to save them, Mogli rounds up some of the elephants and they trample through the village making the villagers move away from the jungle and never come back. During the villagers attemps to flee, Molgi resues his mother and directs her to a near by english village. By the time he is 17, Mogli has a funny felling inside of him that he can't escape and soon learns from the animals that he is aching to go back to man. Soon Mogli finds his monther and his new baby brother in the english village who he visits for a while. After staying for the night, Mogli takes the addvice of Bageera, Baloo and the wolf pack to go back to man at last.This book is very thrilling. Its amazing how the characters act as almost human and have their own laws as well. Im very glad that with their humility and good nature the jungle animals accepted Mogli other wise he would have been killed by Shercawn and probebly the wolf pack. Bageera is a very kind panther and is willing to risk life and limb for his friend. Balo is a strick but loving old bear that toters all the wolf cubs to learn the laws of the jungle. Mogli is an expert to living life in the jungle and is pretty much the leader of all the animals because he has gain all their trust. I really enjoyed this book and just to tell you, I read it three times :).
Show Less
LibraryThing member TKeo
The delightful tales in The Jungle Book can and should be enjoyed by young and old. Mowgli, a human child in India, is rescued by wolves and raised by them with wolf brothers and sisters by wolf parents, after an evil lame tiger chased away his human parents. The tiger who not only kills humans
Show More
wants to control the wolf pact. He tells the wolves insistently that Mowgli belongs to him. Mowgli has many adventures among the wolves and later among humans. Once, for instance, he was captured when he was ten or eleven years old by monkeys, who are portrayed as stupid forgetful creatures in the book. He is saved during a lengthy battle by Bagheera the black panther who loves him and by Baloo the bear that is his instructor, as well as the python Kaa who respects him. Mowgli leaves the jungle and goes to live in the human village. He thinks that people act and think strangely, speak foolishly, and believe that they can change things, which Mowgli knows cannot be changed. These are just some of Mowgli's many adventures. The book also contains exploits by many different animals, such as the story of the white seal that saves other seals from being killed by men for their skins, the mongoose who rescues a family from husband and wife cobras, and a boy who sees elephants dance. Show Less
LibraryThing member EustaciaTan
I was pleasantly surprised by this book.
Previously, I only knew about The Jungle Book if it was the Disney movie, which I didn't even watch. The show looked a little infantile and frankly, I didn't really get it.
Later on, I read and loved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which I heard was based
Finally, I read The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy. In it, they quoted The Jungle Book's "We be of one blood, thou and I". After meeting all these instances of intertextuality, I had to read the book.
The book follows a fairly predictable format: story, then a poem about the story. While I was a little disappointed that not all the stories was about Mowgli, the other stories were interesting. I'm not sure about all this imperialism stuff, since I've not studied that aspect of literature in detail, but all I saw was the noble savage idea, such as that of Huckleberry Finn.
Although the stories lagged towards the end, I still enjoyed the book, if not for the content, then for all the wonderful instances of intertexualities within it.
Previously, I only knew about The Jungle Book if it was the Disney movie, which I didn't even watch. The show looked a little infantile and frankly, I didn't really get it.
Later on, I read and loved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which I heard was based
Show More
on The Jungle Book. Interesting, but still not enough to get me to read it. Finally, I read The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy. In it, they quoted The Jungle Book's "We be of one blood, thou and I". After meeting all these instances of intertextuality, I had to read the book.
The book follows a fairly predictable format: story, then a poem about the story. While I was a little disappointed that not all the stories was about Mowgli, the other stories were interesting. I'm not sure about all this imperialism stuff, since I've not studied that aspect of literature in detail, but all I saw was the noble savage idea, such as that of Huckleberry Finn.
Although the stories lagged towards the end, I still enjoyed the book, if not for the content, then for all the wonderful instances of intertexualities within it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RitaFaye
A favorite classic from my childhood.
LibraryThing member gacyayoshi
This is a brave young boy story.A boy is grown in jungle.He has alot of friends.friends are animals.And he can learn jungle rules thanks for a bear and a black panther witch are his friends. For example, langage of snake.The boy is very blave and he fight with bad tiger ,and so on.
When I read this
This book is very good.Nature told us various things.
So,I read book very fast!
When I read this
Show More
book,I was given brave feeling by this book.This book is very good.Nature told us various things.
So,I read book very fast!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Simon998877
best book ever... couldn't recommend enough
LibraryThing member ChelseaGriffin
The Jungle Book, a three star rated book, would be a good book for elementary or middle level students. The book comes in pictures or just words. This book is a classic tale that teachers could have a good time with to introduce the jungle and/or wild animals.
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
Not only a ripping yarn, but one with many lessons to be learned -- I have met far too many of the Bandar-Log in my time. It's been quite a while since I've read it, so parents might want to make this a read-aloud to be able to explain some of Kipling's outdated ideas. Take what's good and leave
Show More
the rest. Show Less
LibraryThing member dulac3
Rudyard Kipling’s _The Jungle Book_ is an enjoyable read. A collection of short stories, all of which revolve around the lives and troubles of different animals and the people who interact with them, it has a surprising amount of depth coupled with rather pleasant prose. The most famous of these
All of the stories are notable for their fairly even handed treatment of the interactions between animals and men. The tragedy and pathos of the tribulations and abuse animals often have to suffer at the hands of man are not glossed over, but neither is it implied that all interactions between mankind and the animal kingdom are destructive or unwarranted. The animals are presented as having languages and customs of their own and Kipling generally does a pretty neat trick of managing to straddle the line between having his animal characters behave too much like humans and having them fall into unrelatability by being purely ‘animals’. The most significant contravention of this occurs, I think, in the story “Her Majesty’s Servants” in which, in my opinion, a group of animals serving various roles in a British regiment shade a bit more towards taking on the roles of their all-too human handlers. That quibble aside I enjoyed these morality fables and adventure stories, with those centring on Mowgli and his lessons in the Laws of the Jungle topping the list. Good clean fun with enough meat to the bone to give you something to think about.
Show More
stories are probably those that revolve around Mowgli, the jungle boy raised by wolves in India whose adventures with Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther against the machinations of Shere Khan the tiger are fairly well-known (even resulting in a typically watered-down Disney movie from many years ago).All of the stories are notable for their fairly even handed treatment of the interactions between animals and men. The tragedy and pathos of the tribulations and abuse animals often have to suffer at the hands of man are not glossed over, but neither is it implied that all interactions between mankind and the animal kingdom are destructive or unwarranted. The animals are presented as having languages and customs of their own and Kipling generally does a pretty neat trick of managing to straddle the line between having his animal characters behave too much like humans and having them fall into unrelatability by being purely ‘animals’. The most significant contravention of this occurs, I think, in the story “Her Majesty’s Servants” in which, in my opinion, a group of animals serving various roles in a British regiment shade a bit more towards taking on the roles of their all-too human handlers. That quibble aside I enjoyed these morality fables and adventure stories, with those centring on Mowgli and his lessons in the Laws of the Jungle topping the list. Good clean fun with enough meat to the bone to give you something to think about.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mossjon
This small paperback edition contained the first three stories of Kipling's Jungle Books - "Mowgli's Brother"; "Kaa's Hunting"; and "Tiger! Tiger!"
Kipling's prose impressed me with it's poetry and imaginative metaphors. A beautiful love letter to his adopted homeland of India. These stories have
A must read for children, tweens, teen, young adults, and the young at heart.
Kipling's prose impressed me with it's poetry and imaginative metaphors. A beautiful love letter to his adopted homeland of India. These stories have
Show More
aged remarkably well. A must read for children, tweens, teen, young adults, and the young at heart.
Show Less
LibraryThing member themulhern
Wonderful descriptions...but all the laws that must be obeyed just because get under my skin. Why is Akela "The Lone Wolf" when he is the leader of the pack? This is not the only bit that doesn't make sense.
When I was young I found the stories about Mowgli tremendously exciting and longed to go
The chatter of the livestock in the camp in the last story was obviously intended as some kind of allegory about the social structure of the British Empire and neighboring Afghanistan.
As an adult I'm much more interested in finding out the truth behind the tales. For example, fur seal rookeries are really as crowded as Kipling describes them and fur seals really do live out in the ocean for a good eight months at a time. Sexual dimorphism is extremely pronounced with full grown males weighing up to five times as much as full grown females. The seals can way up to 500 lbs. Clubbing the seals was the preferred way to begin the process of skinning them, and so forth.
The reading by Rebecca Burns was too fast, almost breathless.
When I was young I found the stories about Mowgli tremendously exciting and longed to go
Show More
live in the jungle with a wolf pack myself. Killing my enemy and being the darling of all other reputable creatures in the jungle seemed like great fun. I also wanted to be a mongoose. I found many of the poems moving and evocative.The chatter of the livestock in the camp in the last story was obviously intended as some kind of allegory about the social structure of the British Empire and neighboring Afghanistan.
As an adult I'm much more interested in finding out the truth behind the tales. For example, fur seal rookeries are really as crowded as Kipling describes them and fur seals really do live out in the ocean for a good eight months at a time. Sexual dimorphism is extremely pronounced with full grown males weighing up to five times as much as full grown females. The seals can way up to 500 lbs. Clubbing the seals was the preferred way to begin the process of skinning them, and so forth.
The reading by Rebecca Burns was too fast, almost breathless.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Whitney_Taylor
Summary: During the times of the British Raj in India, Mowgli is the 5-year-old son of the widowed Nathoo. Nathoo works as a tour guide. On one of his tours, he is leading Colonel Geoffrey Brydon and his men as well as Brydon's 5-year-old daughter Katherine, with whom Mowgli nicknames "Kitty" and
Elsewhere, Katherine and her father are still stationed in India. She and Mowgli meet again, but neither recognise the other. Katherine is also in a relationship with one of Brydon's soldiers, William Boone. Mowgli enters the village in search of Katherine. Boone and his men manage to capture him and see that he is in possession of a valuable dagger that he took from Monkey City. Katherine discovers an old bracelet of her mother's: one she gave Mowgli when they were children, and instantly realizes who Mowgli is. She and Dr. Julius Plumford (a good friend of Brydon's) decide that they must re-introduce Mowgli to civlization. In doing so, Mowgli and Katherine fall in love, much to Boone's displeasure. Boone later proposes to Katherine and she accepts. Around this time, Mowgli returns to the jungle as he does not feel at home in the village, among Boone's friends. After Boone's cruel treatment of Mowgli, Katherine realizes she cannot marry Boone, so her father decides to send her back to England.
Meanwhile, Boone and his friends (Buldeo, Tabaqui, Lieutenant Wilkins, and Sergeant Harley) gather some bandits to capture Mowgli in order to find out where the treasure is. The men shoot and badly wound Baloo when he comes to Mowgli's defense. They then kidnap Katherine and her father (who is shot and wounded in the process) and use them as blackmail: if Mowgli leads them to the treasure, Katherine and her father shall live. That night, the group learns that Shere Khan has returned to the area and is following them.
The next morning, Harley catches Mowgli escaping (from the aid of Bagheera) and gives chase, only to fall in quicksand and drowns, despite Wilkins' help. Mowgli then has an elephant take the injured Brydon back to the village and promises to rescue Katherine. Later, Tabaqui falls to his death when attempting to kill Mowgli. As the remaining group get nearer to the lost city, they hear Shere Khan nearby and separate. Wilkins accidentally shoots Buldeo in the leg and is then chased down and killed by Shere Khan. In Monkey City, Buldeo accidentally sets off a trap while trying to kill Mowgli and is buried alive, while Mowgli narrowly escapes. Only Mowgli, Katherine and Boone reach the treasure. In the treasure room, with King Louie and his fellow monkeys watching in amusement, Mowgli and Boone engage in a fight until Mowgli injures the soldier. Mowgli then escapes with Katherine, not before Boone tries to make up with Katherine by offering the wealthy life they would live together, to which she rejects. After they leave, Boone begins pocketing as much gold as he can, only to notice the primates have become silent; he is then attacked by Kaa. Boone falls into a moat at the center of the room and sinks to the bottom due to his backpack filled with treasure. The last thing Boone sees before Kaa kills him is the skeletal remains of people whom Kaa had killed in the past.
As Mowgli and Katherine leave, they are ambushed by Shere Khan: when Mowgli shows no fear towards the tiger, Shere Khan sees him as a creature of the jungle and accepts him. Mowgli and Katherine return from the jungle and meet Katherine's father and Baloo, both of whom have recovered from their injuries under Plumford's care. Mowgli now becomes lord of the jungle and begins a relationship with Katherine.
Personal Reaction: I love the story of this book.
Classroom Extension: After reading the book I would have the kids watch the movie and compare and contrast them.
Show More
is close friends. That night, Shere Khan attacks the encampment, killing some soldiers who had been hunting for fun in the jungle earlier, which had enraged Khan. When he tries to kill the third hunter, Buldeo, Nathoo defends Buldeo and is mauled to death by Shere Khan. In the confusion, Mowgli is lost in the jungle (so is left unaware of his father's death) - Brydon and his men now believe Mowgli has too been killed. Mowgli is soon spotted by Bagheera the gentle panther, who brings the boy to the wolf pack. Mowgli also befriends a bear cub named Baloo. Years later, Mowgli, now a young man, discovers Monkey City, a legendary ancient city filled with treasure, owned by King Louie who has his treasure guarded by Kaa the python.Elsewhere, Katherine and her father are still stationed in India. She and Mowgli meet again, but neither recognise the other. Katherine is also in a relationship with one of Brydon's soldiers, William Boone. Mowgli enters the village in search of Katherine. Boone and his men manage to capture him and see that he is in possession of a valuable dagger that he took from Monkey City. Katherine discovers an old bracelet of her mother's: one she gave Mowgli when they were children, and instantly realizes who Mowgli is. She and Dr. Julius Plumford (a good friend of Brydon's) decide that they must re-introduce Mowgli to civlization. In doing so, Mowgli and Katherine fall in love, much to Boone's displeasure. Boone later proposes to Katherine and she accepts. Around this time, Mowgli returns to the jungle as he does not feel at home in the village, among Boone's friends. After Boone's cruel treatment of Mowgli, Katherine realizes she cannot marry Boone, so her father decides to send her back to England.
Meanwhile, Boone and his friends (Buldeo, Tabaqui, Lieutenant Wilkins, and Sergeant Harley) gather some bandits to capture Mowgli in order to find out where the treasure is. The men shoot and badly wound Baloo when he comes to Mowgli's defense. They then kidnap Katherine and her father (who is shot and wounded in the process) and use them as blackmail: if Mowgli leads them to the treasure, Katherine and her father shall live. That night, the group learns that Shere Khan has returned to the area and is following them.
The next morning, Harley catches Mowgli escaping (from the aid of Bagheera) and gives chase, only to fall in quicksand and drowns, despite Wilkins' help. Mowgli then has an elephant take the injured Brydon back to the village and promises to rescue Katherine. Later, Tabaqui falls to his death when attempting to kill Mowgli. As the remaining group get nearer to the lost city, they hear Shere Khan nearby and separate. Wilkins accidentally shoots Buldeo in the leg and is then chased down and killed by Shere Khan. In Monkey City, Buldeo accidentally sets off a trap while trying to kill Mowgli and is buried alive, while Mowgli narrowly escapes. Only Mowgli, Katherine and Boone reach the treasure. In the treasure room, with King Louie and his fellow monkeys watching in amusement, Mowgli and Boone engage in a fight until Mowgli injures the soldier. Mowgli then escapes with Katherine, not before Boone tries to make up with Katherine by offering the wealthy life they would live together, to which she rejects. After they leave, Boone begins pocketing as much gold as he can, only to notice the primates have become silent; he is then attacked by Kaa. Boone falls into a moat at the center of the room and sinks to the bottom due to his backpack filled with treasure. The last thing Boone sees before Kaa kills him is the skeletal remains of people whom Kaa had killed in the past.
As Mowgli and Katherine leave, they are ambushed by Shere Khan: when Mowgli shows no fear towards the tiger, Shere Khan sees him as a creature of the jungle and accepts him. Mowgli and Katherine return from the jungle and meet Katherine's father and Baloo, both of whom have recovered from their injuries under Plumford's care. Mowgli now becomes lord of the jungle and begins a relationship with Katherine.
Personal Reaction: I love the story of this book.
Classroom Extension: After reading the book I would have the kids watch the movie and compare and contrast them.
Show Less
LibraryThing member adams.b1
This is a story about a little boy Mowgli. At the beginning of the story his parents are killed by the lame tiger Shere khan . Shere khan vows to eat Mowgli. But Mowgli learns the law of the jungle , how to hunt and how to make fire! as he is learning this, the evil savage monkeys catch him and
This book was very good. I recommend this book to many young readers. It helps you expose your mind to literature. There is lots of action in this book,there is lots of humor as well. I like how mowgli is brave . He is very courageous, he fought a tiger,can't get more courageous than that! Once again I recommend this book!
Show More
make him teach them to weave stick and do man skills. But then Baloo and Bageera his two friends try to rescue him.He eventually kills Shere khan with a landslide of buffaloes when he is acting herd boy at a man village. At the end he hunts freely with his brother wolfs.This book was very good. I recommend this book to many young readers. It helps you expose your mind to literature. There is lots of action in this book,there is lots of humor as well. I like how mowgli is brave . He is very courageous, he fought a tiger,can't get more courageous than that! Once again I recommend this book!
Show Less
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
These are among the first books that I remember reading as a young boy. Of them my favorites were the Mowgli tales (developed by Disney for the cinema). Mowgli is an Indian infant who is lost in the jungle after Shere Khan (the tiger) kills his family. Bagheera (the black panther) places him with a
Show More
wolf family that has a newborn litter. Mowgli's new "parents" and Bagheera and Baloo (the brown bear) sponsor him for membership in the Wolf Pack and, much to Shere Khan's chagrin, he is admitted. Thus Mowgli is raised according to Jungle Law, but has engendered the enmity of Shere Khan who is plotting his revenge and ingratiating himself with the younger wolves. This leads to an exciting denouement and with the several other Mowgli stories--there are some prequels--impressed this young reader. Kipling strikes a nice balance between anthropomorphizing the animals and understanding Mowgli's natural superiority. Also appearing in this collection is the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi--all about an intrepid young mongoose and his life or death battle to protect an Indian villa from a couple of particularly unpleasant cobras. Truly Rikki Tikki Tavi is one of the great heroes in all of literature. These stories are a great introduction for children (girls and boys) to the work of a true master storyteller. I enjoyed the adventures of Mowgli and his friends and eventually discovered more Kipling as I grew older. Show Less
LibraryThing member .Monkey.
I somehow never read any of the Kipling stories as a child, I only knew the Disney animated movie, and later the Jason Scott Lee [as Mowgli] live-action version. So I was very pleased to find just how good the stories are, even to an adult. They're much heavier than the movie portrayed, and there's
Show More
a lot the movie left out, even from such a short book. Definitely something young people should read. Show Less
LibraryThing member sirfurboy
Most people will be familiar with this story, and will know why it is a classic. On the other hand, they may have not read the original version with the additional tales and poetry. It was worth reading these, even though the story of Mowgli is certainly the best known story for a good reason! The
Show More
other tales though show the versatility of the author, and are engaging in their own way Show Less